Bill Thiebaut wrote an important essay about the issue of clemency for Nathan Dunlap, laying out the history of such official acts of sentence modification. Near the end, Thiebaut wandered into the thicket of remorse and how it factors into punishment. That was an unfortunate move.

In grade school I was caught pocketing candy at a local store. From that event I learned many lessons, but one above all others — that regret rarely comes from lamenting the act but always in being caught.

Dunlap might be feeling sorry for murdering four people simply from the act, but more likely his sorrow was induced by being caught and sentenced to death. His remorse may be real, but we’ll never know its sincerity nor origin; that will have to be a private matter between him and God.

Harry Puncec, Lakewood

This letter was published in the June 30 edition.

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Bob Crowell, whose 19-year-old daughter Sylvia was one of four people killed by Nathan Dunlap at an Aurora restaurant in 1993, listens as Gov. Hickenlooper announces a temporary reprieve from the death penalty for Dunlap in May. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

I was moved by the op-ed pieces criticizing Gov. John Hickenlooper for his temporary reprieve of Nathan Dunlap by Joshua Grant and William Pawlicki, relatives of Dunlap’s murder victims. They are essentially saying that the death penalty is a more appropriate punishment for a convicted murderer than life in prison without chance of parole. But this is just the sort of reaction one would expect from a victim’s relative, and the reason such persons are not allowed to sit on a jury that would try the accused murderer of their relative.

I do understand (to the extent that anyone not connected to a murder can) the relatives’ pain at the reprieve and the mere re-raising of the head of this ugly matter. But society at large, not victims’ relatives, must decide whether the death penalty is more appropriate punishment and weigh many other factors relevant to this issue. Grant and Pawlicki are free to criticize Hickenlooper for his decision, but their opinions in this matter cannot be considered unbiased.

David Wolf, Lakewood

This letter was published in the June 23 edition.

With all due respect, these families have been victimized twice: first, they lost their loved ones in an unimaginable event; second, they are fed lies by district attorneys and others who promise “justice, closure and healing” when the perpetrator is killed.

Thousands of Colorado families, impacted by murder, do not expect to gain the “relief and satisfaction” that Joshua Grant hopes for with the execution of his brother’s killer. These other families must find more creative and positive ways of remembering and honoring their loved ones. They would have much to teach us.

To use the torture and death of an individual (now harmless) for our own satisfaction speaks only to revenge and not to what is most noble in us.

The governor acted correctly. The next step is to abolish the death penalty and its spurious promises now. Forever.

Stephen Handen, Colorado Springs

This letter was published in the June 23 edition.

I strongly suspect that Gov. John Hickenlooper’s decision to not make a decision on Nathan Dunlap has much more to do with Hickenlooper and his potential political aspirations than anything else — including consideration for the victims and their kin. Hickenlooper seems to simply not want a death penalty decision to come back to give him political problems in the event he decides to move on to the national political arena in the future. What better way to dodge this entire problematic issue than to simply not make a decision? I think this is pure self-centered political calculus on Hickenlooper’s part, and all the touchy-feely talk about having a “conversation” about capital punishment is simply so much obfuscation at the expense of the victims, their families and the criminal justice system. What a sad, sad situation this is.

John A. Cleveland, Littleton

This letter was published in the June 23 edition.

William Pawlicki, brother of Margaret Kohlberg, is right to question the governor about his reprieve for Nathan Dunlap. This is the same governor who very quickly responded to the legalization of marijuana by saying the people of Colorado had spoken and he must support their decision. Well, the people of Colorado have spoken on the death penalty and he needs to support their decision.

Kathy Lewis, Morrison

This letter was published in the June 23 edition.

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